Internet Geek Girl

It’s April 3rd and that means it’s time for Good People Day 2009!

It’s not midnight yet. I still have time to get my homage up.  I realize I’m down to the wire, but heck, it’s Friday. As I sit here with @chrismccaffrey drinking some nice red wine, watching Slumdog Millionaire on my Netflix Blueray, I will take a moment to share this:

I’m sure anyone reading this blog knows that this “blog holiday” was started by Gary Vaynerchuk last year. You can watch his short video to learn all about the origins.  In a nutshell – Gary is supporting the concept of taking a few minutes out of your busy life to stop and say… I appreciate a good person in my life!  I am down with that.  It’s beautiful and it’s good karma – two things my Italian spirit genuinely appreciates.

There are so many “industry” friends that are amazing people. I want to give a shout out to all of them.  I won’t go into detail here, b/c I would have to leave people out. But if you’ve spoken on the phone with me in the last 3 months – you know who you are!

Like Gary, I want to give a shout out to a family member this year. I have a big family, full of amazing people. But there is one person that I want to call out as a focus for “good people day.” My stepmom Marilyn. It’s weird b/c this morning started with a news report on Good Morning Amercia (favorite morning show for me and my man) about how some women were perceiving stepmoms to be “too involved” because they declared their love for their step child.  Some super model (giselle, maybe), said she loved her step child as her own. And some very sad, pained and insecure women got in an uproar. That got me “social media” involved! (I twittered GMA, not that they noticed).

As a child of divorce, who has two amazing parents and a kind, wonderful, step-mom – I wanted to say – the more love the better. Love is not defined by genetics or “hierarchy.” My mom is a wonderful, kind woman who is HONORED by the fact that my stepmom loves her stepchildren. My dad always supported kindness and respect for all parties.

I truly believe that humans that promote positivity and love will win. That’s really what it comes down to.

So – I raise a glass to Marilyn Agresta, a woman who has dedicated her life to helping others as a nurse, a mother, a step-mother, a community leader, a church elder, a giver. Without concern for what she gets back, Marilyn gives.  She epitomizes good karma in my book and I am grateful for her love, friendship, kindness and support. And motherly love!

Here’s to all the “good people” out there – moms, dads, stepmoms, stepdads – who commit time, energy, love and affection to helping raise good people.

#gdp09. Thanks @garyvee.

Ciao peeps!

It would have been better to get this blog post up on January 1st. What can I say, it’s been a very busy first 2 weeks of the New Year. Today, one of the most important days of our nation’s history, I am thinking about new beginnings and ushering in a new way of doing business. So the timing still feels right to share this.

I’m a fan of every New Year. This is the time of year when individuals and companies think about goals and establish plans for action. It’s a time of rebirth. It is the perfect time to clean the slate, appreciate how far you have come and imagine how far you will go. I don’t call these resolutions, I just know that if I put my desires out to the universe and I will achieve them.

The biggest change this year relates to one specific area of business I have added value in for a long time: The OPM business (Outsourced Program Management) for you non-affiliate folks. For the past almost 5 years I have led agencies focused on helping companies run their LinkShare, Commission Junction and ShareASale programs. OPMs are affiliate marketing experts with established contact bases that help merchants form affiliate partnerships, acquire new affiliates, optimize existing relationships, merchandise products through the sales channel, activate this virtual sales force and drive revenue.

It has been an amazing experience and I have worked with some many people and great companies, including: Acorn Online, Costume Super Center, Constant Contact, Gourmet Monthly Clubs, Avenue, and many more. In the last year, I launched Affiliate Karma, an affiliate marketing brand focused on providing this important service. In 2009, Affiliate Karma joins forces with Schaaf Consulting to deliver the most premier OPM service in the business. Scaling a service business is no easy task. My partnership with Schaaf allows me to continue to be a thought leader and force in the affiliate industry while also pursuing my interests in the area of publishing, social media and events. There is only so much time in a day. More details on this coming soon!

Stephanie Agresta Consulting LLC is undergoing a re-design. You’ll see a new look-and-feel for my sites, exciting plans for the TechSet brand, and a lot more content flowing from these pages. My work will continue to include strategic consultation in online marketing and social media; producing events and experiences that leverage my contact base and online audience; and online promotion of the products and people I support. I will also be adding more advertising units to my blogs (in a tasteful and disclosed way).

InternetGeekGirl will continue to be the blog brand that covers the people, places and products that I love. You’ll see more interviews with my colleagues, more podcasts, and a regular series called, “Ask Internet GeekGirl.” Affiliate-Karma.com will now serve as a resource to anyone interested in securing OPM services for their affiliate program. You can pick my brain for free and I’ll let you know the solution that I think is right for you.TechSet.tv which is still in the works, will let you know the parties, events and conferences you should be attending each week. StephanieAgresta.com will serve as the central hub for it all and thanks to the talented people at ContentRobot and WeFixWP you will see that site changing soon!

I often look to my friends and colleagues in the industry to guide my way.  People like: Chris Brogan, Tara Hunt, Hugh MacLeod,  Jeremiah Owyang, Brian Solis, Shawn Collins, Gary Vaynerchuk, CopyBlogger, Jeremy Shoemaker, Loren Feldman, Sarah Lacy are great examples of people delivering quality content on a regular basis, in multiple formats to an interested audience. Inspired by these folks, I will get more prolific.

But the secret sauce is the combination of all that we do. And I’m a do-er. As much as I love writing, I love doing. Stay tuned for big announcements about SXSW, web2expo and Blog World Expo. I hope to see you in a city soon.

It’s 2009, and change is finally here!

That’s right. My second trip to Vegas this year.  I’m super excited for the second annual Blog World Expo that starts this Friday. It’s not too late to make your plans (there are actually some really good hotel deals on Hotels.com). The speaker line up and the party list look fantastic. Don’t forget to use the code: GEEKGIRL!

Follow @blogworld on Twitter for all the latest updates!

The TechSet has earned a reputation for hosting some of the most glamorous and connected events around the country. We’d like to invite you to what just may be our most incredible event yet as we celebrate you and the other entrepreneurs defining the new Web landscape. At BlogWorld, we will gather poolside at the new Bare lounge at the Mirage Hotel.

(mt) Media Temple, our title sponsor, will be hosting blog super stars and super startups alike!  Check out the *cabana* sponsors, including: Canvas On Demand, Empressr, MindTouch, ShareThis and Tagga.

In addition to Sarah Lacy, Hugh MacLeod, and Loren Feldman, we’ll be welcoming — all of you – the people that are the TECHSET!

---

(mt) Media Temple Inc., (Twitter = @mediatemple) Inc. is an industry-leading, privately held web hosting and software services provider with headquarters in California. Since 1998, the company has provided businesses worldwide with reliable, high-capacity networks to host websites, email, business applications, video and other modern, rich-media content.

We are a friendly, accessible group of technology-agnostic managers, engineers and support professionals dedicated to making our customers happy. We are a true 24/7 company. Contact us anytime 24 hours a day at 877-578-4000. English is our primary language. We also speak Spanish, Japanese, Swedish, Korean, Polish, Russian, Romanian, Armenian and a few other languages.

---

ShareThis (Twitter = @sharethis) lets people easily share the things they find online, in the most convenient way possible. ShareThis consolidates address books and friend lists, so that anything can be shared immediately, without ever leaving a webpage.

---

Tagga (Twitter = @tagga) allows anyone to create text message campaigns instantly so that you can interact, sell to, or simply communicate with mobile users.  Promote your product or service to a targeted audience on their mobile.

You can target the audience you want, deliver the content you want and pay only on success.  Monetize your web or print content like blogs, websites, signage or print publications and expand your distribution channel.  Integrating with Tagga is fast and simple. In just a few minutes you can be on your way to extending your website’s functionality and earning additional revenue. www.tagga.com.

---

MindTouch, (Twitter = @mindtouch) recognized the world over for innovation beyond open source wiki collaboration and content management, is delivering a leading edge application integration and development platform. MindTouch Deki, built with a Web Oriented Architecture (WOA), enables users to connect teams, enterprise systems, Web services and Web 2.0 applications with IT governance. Users easily access and organize data and systems efficiently to achieve their business objectives.

MindTouch Deki is deployed by Fortune 500 companies, major media, research/education institutions, government agencies, and online businesses worldwide. Customers include Microsoft, Fujitsu, Siemens, Gannett, FedEx, U.S. Army, DoD, and others. MindTouch is committed to delivering next generation solutions to people, businesses and governments.

---

Empressr (Twitter = @empressr) is the first of its kind rich Internet application that provides users with the tools to create and share Multi-media visual stories online. Armed with only a Web browser, users can combine photographs, artwork, text, music, videos, audio recordings and charts to produce anything from a simple slide show to a state-of-the-art business presentation.

Empressr embraces the best of what the Internet has to offer with features such as asset tagging, Web mashups, embedded data and a comprehensive selection of rich media features. Once created, an empressr can be distributed in many ways. It can be published to the community site or your social networking page, sent in an email and even embedded in a blog or wiki.

---

Canvas on Demand is the Raleigh, North Carolina that transforms your sentimental photos into canvas artwork. Co-owners Tom Lotrecchiano and Joe Schmidt were named Ernst and Young Entrepreneur of the year finalists and  ranked number 283 in the 2008 Inc. 500.  You can visit www.CanvasOnDemand.com for more information or to see samples.

It’s been a week since the Affiliate Summit Social Media bus rolled from Boston down to NYC.  I’ve just recently recovered from the experience.  If you missed Gary Vaynerchuk’s u-streaming of the bus ride I recommend you check it out (and have a good laugh).

Big thanks to everyone who joined in for the Affiliate Summit Social Media Bus and Blogger Lounge.  It was a fantastic event. There are some great round-ups out there including on Affiliate Tip,  5Star Affiliate Programs, and my favorite: the Tris Hussey Flickr shots!

One of the highlights of the show for me was the Cory Booker Keynote! It set the tone for a substantive and productive conference. You can catch excerpts here! Be sure to follow Shawn Collins on Twitter as he will post the full video and MP3 of Mayor Booker’s speech as soon as it goes up.

** ADDITION TO POST: Here’s the full keynote!

Personal thanks going out to Gary Vaynerchuk for his participation!  Also, big thanks to Social Spark and Market Leverage for their sponsorship support.

Missy/Shawn – as always, you put on a wonderful event.

And finally, a big shout out (and some link love) for all my bloggers peeps who stopped in the lounge. You guys RAWK!

Ari Greenberg

Ashley Edwards

Carsten Cumbrowski

Charles Ngo

Chris Brogan

Content Robot

David Fisher

Jay Berkowitz

Jeremy Johnson

Jim Kukral

Joe Garraffo

John Chow

John Hasson

Jonathan Dingman

Mark Wielgus

Maria Thurrell

Michael Buechele

MLTV

Oz Sultan

Peter Glaeser

Rick Burnes

Sally Chow

Sam Harrelson

Shawn Collins

Selina McCusker

Steve Hall

Ted Murphy

Tris Hussey

Trisha Lyn

Zac Johnson

Creating a connection between social media and performance marketing!

Join InternetGeekGirl and her social media friends for the fun-ride of the summer.  The Affiliate Summit party bus will be leaving NYC in just one month (departs August 9^th) and heading to Boston for Affiliate Summit East. Plus special guest, Gary Vaynerchuk of WineLibrary.tv, will be rolling down to NYC with us on August 13^th (the trip home).  Staff from mashable, Buy.at, Magnify.net, 1115Media, and many more great companies will be on the bus. You should be too. Tickets are still available, but selling fast, so grab yours today. Plus don’t forget to swing through the Affiliate Summit blogger lounge while your there and meet all you peeps and tweeps!

Affiliate Summit is shaping up to the be the best one yet. You can get a preview here. The Blue Man Group will be performing during the conference, and the keynote is Cory Booker. Registrations are still available, but act now, because they usually sell out!

BTW – Hotel reservations can be booked online – enter the following code in the group code box in the “additional options section”: AFSAFS.

More Details:

The bus will provide round-trip transportation to Boston from NYC and lots of social media special-sauce.   The blogger lounge will serve influencers and social media makers as their main operations hub throughout Affiliate Summit East 2008.

Other key highlights of the bus and blogger lounge promotion include:

• Free Signed Copy of Gary Vaynerchuk’s book: All participants on the bus will receive a free signed copy of @garyvee’s new book: “Gary Vaynerchuk’s 101 Wines Guaranteed to Inspire, Delight, and Bring Thunder to Your World.”
• $250 Voucher for Free Advertising Trial on SocialSpark:Given the system a whirl at no cost to you.
• Super Duper Schwag Bags for Bus Riders: MarketLeverage promo packs will be provided for all party bus attendees. Enjoy your MarketLeverage Nike bag, you can use it take to home your Affiliate Summit swag, including a 2GB USB Pen!
• Food and Drinks on the Bus and in the Lounge: Sponsored by b5 media, refreshments will be provided for participants. ** Special mimosa and bellini recipes to be provided by the experts at WineLibrary.com.

Please note: There is a car pool coming from Philly, and we will also wait for any Philly folks who want to take the morning departure from BoltBus.  The bus will leave NYC on Saturday, August 9th around 11 am and leave Boston on Wednesday August 13th around  10 AM ish. Location of departure will be provided to participants.

Plus you are cordially invited to join The TechSet in Boston: The TechSet will host an event on Sunday afternoon 8/10 at Tia’s on the Waterfront (http://www.tiaswaterfront.com/). Come meet the twitterati in Boston! Details posted soon!!

About our Sponsors:

SocialSpark, a IZEA Property, is a Social Marketing Network that connects advertisers and bloggers through an online blog advertising marketplace. Advertisers are able to target blogs based on conversational topics and make cash sponsorship offers to the bloggers who publish them. Bloggers can make money by either placing display advertisements on their blog or by writing sponsored content. The sponsorships offered through the SocialSpark marketplace allow advertisers to build buzz, generate traffic and maximize social media exposure.

---

MarketLeverage is one of the web’s largest “Cost Per Acquisition” (CPA) networks. MarketLeverage enables web Advertisers and web Publishers to harness the power of performance marketing. The company also hosts MLTV, one of the first ever video news sources for affiliates!

---